Database Structural Layer

The core of the The Documentary Sources database system is designed according to standard relational database principles. The structure is housed in standard SQL-addressable tables that can be transferred to various other platforms and could be queried by various software tools. The structure has proven solid, reliable and extensible. The use of desktop database management software (MS Access) as the primary tool for managing the SQL tables allowed rapid application development in setting up and testing data entry models in the Archivio di Stato; it also made it possible to run the system onsite in the Archivio on laptops.

The procedure for developing the database structure began with a test sample of 6% of the volumes in the Archivio Mediceo del Principato (393 of 6,429 total) drawn from 6 different sections of this archive. (See Appendix I: Data Management Criteria, for the conclusions drawn from this test sample.) Data types and authority elements identified in the data entry process were incorporated into revisions of the design. There were major adjustments to the database architecture during this 2-year period of data sampling and structural design:

• PLACES: The Getty TGN was incorporated with modifications to accommodate the addition of M.A.P.-specific records (e.g. historic place names and buildings.)
  
  
• TOPIC PLACE ASSIGNMENT: This was re-engineered to assign Topic Place references from a single TGN-plus-M.A.P. Places Lookup table.
  
  
• PEOPLELIST: This was expanded into the PeopleBase subsystem (now in development) which records such complex biographical data as roles (including titles and occupations), name modifiers, variant names and marriage records.
  
  
• TOPIC CATEGORIES: The number of Topic Categories was expanded from 30 to 38, to better express the range of information found in the sampled documents (See Appendix V: Topic Categories and Criteria.)
  
  
• DOCUMENT SUMMARIES: The former DOCUMENT SUMMARY field was divided into separate ENGLISH SYNOPSIS and DOCUMENT EXTRACT fields (see Appendix I: Data Management Criteria.)

The resulting database structure consists of five primary tables and a variety of secondary and linking tables (see chart below.) The formal structure of this database is expressed in the Data Dictionary (Appendix II: Data Dictionary) and in the diagram of table relationships (Appendix III: Main Table Relationships.)